1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method for arranging a plurality of ornament pieces in a target area displayed on an image display device based on a cursor operation. The invention also relates to a computer readable recording medium on which is recorded a program for causing a computer to perform the image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, it has been practiced for pleasure to decorate photo images with various types of graphic ornaments, such as flower, heart shape, and the like, and a method in which a photo image to be decorated is display on a display device and a desired ornament piece is arranged at a position directly specified by the user by clicking a cursor or the like is known.
As shown in FIG. 14, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-022929 (Patent Document 1) proposes a method for automatically arranging ornament pieces at random positions of the background area of photo image 91 other than face area 92.
Further, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040125423 (Patent Document 2) proposes a method for automatically arranging an ornament piece (glasses, false whiskers, or the like) on a person's face area of a photo image by enlarging or reducing the ornament piece according to the size of the face area and positioning the ornament piece so as to match with the image of the face area.
The method in which an ornament piece is arranged at a position specified directly by the user, however, requires a position specifying operation each time an ornament piece is arranged. Therefore, the method has a problem that it requires more time for a larger number of ornament pieces to be arranged. Further, where the user is not accustomed to the positioning for arranging an ornament piece, it is often the case that the arrangement results in unnatural.
Further, the method described in Patent Document 1 in which ornament pieces are arranged automatically at random positions may eliminate the time and effort of the user, but may not reflect user's intention in the arrangement of ornament pieces.
Still further, the method described in Patent Document 2 in which the appropriate arrangement position of an ornament piece is uniquely determined has a problem that the variation of decorative effects provided by the ornament piece is limited.
In view of the circumstances described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus capable of arranging a plurality of ornament pieces in a manner that reflects user's intention by a simple cursor operation. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a computer readable recording medium on which is recorded a program for causing a computer to perform the image processing method.